Judge Mansell ordered the case back to court under the “Slip rule” which allows judges to re-sentence if new information comes to light.

He had asked Bashir to provide evidence but said the defendant had produced only a “handful of emails” to support his claims.

The court heard a sports agent had written a letter to the earlier hearing saying Bashir “had a very bright future ahead of him” as he had been selected for Leicestershire.

The sports agent, who the new defence team said had “mistyped” the letter to court, has since been spoken to by police, the court heard.

Bashir’s barrister also said the previous defence and probation officer had “got the wrong end of the stick” over the job offer.

Image copyrightPhotoshot

Image caption
Judge Richard Mansell was criticised by MPs over comments he made about Bashir’s victim

Imposing the new sentence, the judge told Bashir: “You were clearly making a claim to the court you had a career in professional cricket ahead of you which was false.

“You made that quite clearly in the hope you would avoid a prison sentence.

“There’s not a shred of evidence you were ever chosen to play for Leicestershire County Cricket Club, let alone you had received any offer of a full time contract.”

Welcoming the sentence, Leicestershire CCC chief executive Wasim Khan said the club was “horrified at being used as a means for someone who had been convicted of appalling violence to his wife to escape imprisonment”.

He said the new sentence was “a much more fitting punishment for what he did and good news for the fight against domestic violence”.

Judge Mansell drew criticism from domestic abuse campaigners and several MPs when he told the court last month that the victim was not vulnerable as she was “an intelligent woman with a network of friends” and had a degree.

Reviewing Bashir’s sentence, he said his earlier comments were meant as an explanation of advice issued by the Sentencing Guidelines Council about the vulnerability of witnesses.

He said he wanted to make clear Bashir’s wife had been believed, she was “plainly vulnerable”, but he had been explaining the different factors which can make a victim especially vulnerable.